“The True Spirit of a Racer”: From barn find to Handbuilt Show… In 1965, Honda introduced their first “big” motorcycle, the original CB450 “Black Bomber” — a 43-hp straight-twin that could do 101 mph. The […]
Tag: Cafe Racers
STG Tracker: Kawasaki KZ750 Twin
In 1976, Kawasaki introduced the KZ750 Twin, meant to compete against large-bore vertical twins like the Triumph Bonneville, Yamaha XS650, and the bygone British twins of yesteryear. But the KZ was no throwback — the […]
Two-Stroke Café Racer: Suzuki GT185 Adventurer
Milwaukee’s Steve Baugrud builds one sweet smoker… In 1973, Suzuki unveiled the GT185 Adventurer, a 21-hp air-cooled two-stroke parallel twin with Ram Air, crank case oil injection, electric start, and a front disc brake. The […]
Honda Hornet 600 “Elise” by Nicola Manca
Introduced in 1998, the Honda CB600F — better known as the the Honda 599 (USA) or Hornet (Europe) — utilized the old mid-90s CBR600F sportbike engine, tuned to 97 horsepower and set in a basic […]
“Stormbringer” Harley-Davidson Sportster Café Racer
In 1972, English illustrator Paul Sample created Ogri for Bike magazine, a cartoon whose leather-clad star — Ogri himself — wears a set of Thor-like wings on his helmet and rides a self-built 1000cc Norvin […]
Black Russian: Honda CB750 Cafe Racer by Drive-In Workshop
Leonid Skakunov of Russia’s Drive-In Workshop cut his teeth as a mechanic at various workshops before renting a small space of his own in 2016 to build custom bikes. In the last four years, his […]
Japanese Muscle: Yamaha XJR1300 “Geisha” by Unik Edition
The Yamaha XJR1300 was a fire-breathing brute of a machine, a two-wheeled muscle car whose air-cooled engine could be traced back to the 1980s. By the time the 1251cc powerplant found its way into the […]
To The Rescue: “Unexpected” CX500 Cafe Racer by BCKustoms
Honda cafe racer built for a French Coast Guard rescue diver… Yann Le Douche of BCKustoms (Breizh Coast Kustoms) has an enviable pedigree for a custom bike builder. In his long career, he’s worked as […]
Honda XR400R “Supercafe” by 485 Designs
For Sale: Supermoto-inspired XR custom from Colorado… Introduced back in 1996, the Honda XR400R would become one of the most well-loved and successful trail bikes of all time. It weighed 257 lbs dry and made […]
Father / Daughter Custom: Honda CB350 by David & Sonya Lloyd
For more than 25 years, David and Michael Lloyd of Lloyd Brothers Motorsports (LBM) have been involved in flat track racing. Back in 2005, they campaigned the only Aprilia/Rotax flat tracker in AMA pro competition, […]
